FAA tells US airlines not to fly to Tel Aviv

Travelers look at a departures board showing one canceled flight to Tel Aviv at Newark Liberty International Airport, Tuesday, July 22, 2014, in Newark, N.J. In a sign of increased caution about flying near combat zones, U.S. and European airlines halted flights to Israel Tuesday after a rocket landed near Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport. Delta Air Lines and United Airlines suspended service between the U.S. and Israel indefinitely. The actions come days after a Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down over eastern Ukraine with 298 people on board. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration told U.S. airlines Tuesday they are prohibited from flying to the Tel Aviv airport in Israel for 24 hours following a Hamas rocket explosion nearby.

The ban began 12:15 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, the agency said in a statement.

“Due to the potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict in Israel and Gaza, all flight operations to/from Ben Gurion International Airport by U.S. operators are prohibited until further advised,” the FAA said in its notice to airlines. The rocket strike landed about 1 mile from the airport, the agency said.

The notice applies only to U.S. airlines since the FAA has no authority over carriers from other nations.

The agency said it will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation, and that updated instructions will be provided to U.S. airlines “as soon as conditions permit, but no later than 24 hours” from the time the directive went into force.